Intellectual Property

March 31, 2023

Our Know Your Rights segments highlight different aspects that impact your employment at Carleton University, including highlights from the Collective Agreement in small, easy to understand bits.

This week, we’ll give a brief refresher on CUASA’s Collective Agreement Intellectual Property protections. Article 14.1(b) states the following: “Inventors, authors and other creators (hereinafter referred to as originators) have sole ownership over their intellectual property except where the Employer has contributed any assistance in the creation or development of the intellectual property, whether by way of funds, facilities and/or support or technical personnel employed by the Employer beyond that which is normally provided to originators to carry out their usual duties. Originators so supported have a duty to disclose intellectual property developed to the Employer. Unless specifically directed otherwise, each originator shall make such disclosure to the Provost and Vice-President (Academic).”

You’ll note the caveat when it comes to employer contributed assistance “beyond that which is normally provided to originators to carry out their usual duties.” In such cases, there must be a written agreement to transfer ownership of the copyright. If you’re subject to a grant, it’s important to read the terms and conditions of the grant or contract. We encourage members to consult with CUASA before signing such agreements.

Article 14 also highlights other useful knowledge pertaining to Innovation Transfer, Patents, Copyright, Trade-marks, and more. One important clause is Article 14.4(a), which states that all CUASA members retain “all rights related to literary work created by that employee which includes, but is not limited to, lectures (whether televised or not), copyright in computer program software, industrial design and artistic work (hereinafter called copyrighted property), except where such work is covered by a signed agreement between the Employer and the employee predating this Collective Agreement the prior agreement shall govern.”

Some exceptions to 14.3 are listed under 14.3(d)(i – iii) which state that the Employer has the rights to use any AV recorded instructional materials, as well as computer programs developed in the course of normal administrative duties, and that no employee may claim copyright in “any assessment, grading, report, or correspondence” produced in their “normal administrative duties.”

Article 14 of our Collective Agreement is particularly dense, with many clauses that might make it more difficult to understand if you aren’t familiar with such jargon. For any questions and concerns regarding intellectual property, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected].

Despite the exceptions stated above, Article 14 offers substantial protections for our members when it comes to Intellectual Property.